New Beginnings
by Hoshiko Usagi
Summary: Part 2 in the Frieza saga. Krista's beginning to settle into a routine in Frieza's compound. She has friends, and a protector. So what does the Ginyu have planned for her?
1. Talk of Harry Potter and of buried emoti...

(I felt that dividing this storyline up into several fics, like my original Senshi/Trooper fics would be much more potent than

(I felt that dividing this storyline up into several fics, like my original Senshi/Trooper fics would be much more potent than all in one very long fic. This is turning out quite well.)

As always, I own only those whose names you don't recognise. If you watch DBZ, then obviously that's only quite a few. If you don't watch DBZ, then, well, you might well assume I own everybody. I don't.

A/N: If you haven't read up to and including the third book of Harry Potter (that would be YOU, Ami-chan!) then don't read this, it contains part of the story. Not much, but then Harry Potter is best experienced all at once.

Ch. 1

I guess I'm so easy to understand.

I just do whatever comes to me naturally.

Sweet sweet you're so sweet.

I'm not simple minded. 

-I just felt that Amy from Sonic Adventure was grossly underrepresented in my fic songs.

Krista reported to her tactical station and immediately continued running the diagnostic of the launching pads she'd been running the day before. They'd been malfunctioning, not giving enough thrust to launch the capsules into space or not giving any thrust at all. She sighed. Murphy's Law, she supposed. Whatever can go wrong will.

She looked up as Frieza entered the Command Centre. He gave her a curt nod and walked around the other stations. She smiled faintly. Only a couple of weeks into her career here on the planet and she was already beginning to settle into a routine. 

_Morning, Sergeant._

_Good morning, Sir, she thought a little absently as Zarbon entered the Command Centre. She could almost feel Zarbon's shadow of a smirk. _

_A little busy?_

_If I don't get these launching pads back on line, I'm done. Krista informed him. __So far, I've tried everything I could think of, every diagnostic, but there's no answer. I don't know what else to do._

_Tell Lord Frieza when he comes over. You're not our most skilled technician, you know. You've done all you can._

Krista sighed both inwardly and outwardly. _I suppose so…but I wish I could do more…_

_Don't stretch yourself Sergeant, Zarbon warned her. __It wouldn't be a good idea if you had a breakdown._

Krista was pondering this when Frieza stepped over to her. 

"How are you doing, Sergeant?"

"Sir, I've been working on the Launching Pad problem, but I can't seem to find an answer," she informed him. Frieza frowned. 

"You've done all you can, Sergeant. Stand down and work on something else for a while."

"Yes sir," she said softly. She stood and moved to another tactical console, choosing to take inventory of their weapons stores.

_That wasn't so hard, was it?_

_Oh quiet._

This time, she actually saw Zarbon's smile as he checked up on the security stations. She shook her head and tapped a few buttons on her display, bringing up the charge meter on the lasers.

"So what happened then??"

Krista grinned. Mere was turning into quite the Harry Potter fan. She smiled. 

"Well, Harry was awoken by Ron's scream and a ripping sound. When he got out of bed, Ron's curtains had been ripped to shreds and Ron was claiming that Sirius Black had been standing over him with a knife. When he'd screamed, though, Sirius had ran."

"That's odd," Mere said. "If Sirius realized he'd gotten the wrong bed, why didn't he just silence him and move on to Harry? For that matter, how'd he get past the painting of Sir Cadogan?"

"I can answer the second question now, but not the first," Krista smirked. "Spoils the story. Anyway, remember Neville had written Sir Cadogan's passwords for the week down on a piece of paper? Somehow Sirius got hold of it and read off the entire weeks passwords, and Sir Cadogan let him in."

Musquo chuckled as Mere's eyes widened. "What did Professor McGonagall do to him??"

Krista opened her mouth to answer when Musquo chimed in. "Knowing her, probably transfigured him into a rabbit, or maybe an owl."

Krista grinned. "That would have made it more interesting…she just gave him detention and forbid him to receive the password again. And the Fat Lady was brought back."

"After her picture was slashed?" Kuao asked incredulously. "The Fat Lady always struck me as having more sense than that." 

"She does," Krista giggled. "She didn't go back until Dumbledore agreed to give her a security detail, which came in the form of some gnomes."

Krista stretched. "Enough Harry Potter talk. Mere, you were telling me earlier about the different men who've been here?"

Mere grinned. "Of course. Where was I?"

"You were speaking about arrogance…" Kuao said solemnly, though he was grinning as well. Mere nodded. 

"Of course. Arrogance. Well, as you can imagine, many men here are guilty of that little defect. The stronger you are, the more arrogant you seem to become. So, of course that well is topped by the Ginyu Force, who's considered Lord Frieza's personal army.

"Then again, Zarbon himself comes pretty close to their level, as well."

"Don't I know it," Krista said, rolling her eyes and smiling. Musquo nodded.

"Of course he's entitled, being the second-in-command. However, he can get pretty, well…annoying. Most of the men really don't like him, but put up with him. If any of them thought they could stand up to him, they would."

Krista smirked. "Then maybe I should."

Kuao raised a brow. "Oh?"

"Yes. I mean, I did hold him off when we were fighting on my planet. Come to think of it, I believe Lord Frieza called a halt because he was afraid I'd beat his poor little soldier." She looked up at the expressions on their faces. All three registered complete shock. 

"Y-you're a match for Zarbon?" Musquo finally squeaked. He shook his head, then looked up at her, an entirely new respect for her in his eyes. "No matter what happens, you continue to astound me," he said, smiling. Krista suddenly flushed. 

"I'm not that outstanding-"

"Tell me," Mere said. "Were you one of the strongest on your planet?"

Krista sighed. "I wish. I was only a novice. Probably still am."

Mere glanced at his companions, and saw that they were thinking the same thing: If this girl was a novice, what would their strongest have done? He glanced at her again. Something told him that she was going to shake the compound before she left. She grinned. 

"You want to talk Arrogant, but you haven't mentioned Vegeta yet!"

Musquo laughed. "I was getting to him. Actually, I've not met a sayajin yet that wasn't somewhat arrogant. Of course, they deserve to be…"

She sighed and flopped back on her bed. She turned over onto her stomach and began to put the finishing touches on the picture. She began singing to herself softly in Japanese.

"Arashi no naka o kazenukete,

Yume ga mienai dark night.

Hitori oshiyo dakishimenaiede.

Ikazuchi yo hashire anata no moto e,"

A soft chime from her door made her halt both activities. She stood and opened the door. Just as she'd thought, Zarbon was there. His visits had become daily, and he usually came about this time. 

_I haven't interrupted anything, Sergeant?_

_Nothing vital, she thought with amusement. __Have a seat. I was just working on a new picture._

_May I see? Zarbon thought with interest. Krista showed him. He frowned. _

He recognized the girl in the picture. It was the same young girl who, after killing Kui, had been killed by Lord Frieza.

_So you do remember Sakura Avalon, she thought, gently tugging the picture away from him. __I wasn't sure you would. After all, here her thoughts became tinged with bitterness. __What's one more casualty, and a child at that?_

A sigh reverberated through her mind. _Did everything go all right today?_

_Fine as usual, Commander. You really ought to give me some credit. I know now to come to you if something's wrong._

Zarbon was silent a few moments, keeping his thoughts to himself. 

_You are aware that you are up for a promotion?_

_Promotion? For what?_

Zarbon smiled, and this time spoke aloud. 

"Promotions here are not based simply on accomplishments and merit, though that can be a great part of it. But those who are strong, especially skilled fighters, tend to be promoted. The stronger you are, the higher you promotion. And, you _are a match for me," he finished. _

"So, I'll be a commander?" Krista wasn't sure she was ready for such responsibility. Zarbon laughed. 

_Lieutenant more likely, he thought. __You've got quite a few rungs on the ladder to go before you reach my level, though your power level may warrant it. Don't worry, Sergeant. If I'm right, and I usually am, then you'll have your time of command soon enough. _

_I don't think I'm ready for anything like that just yet. I'll stick to being a soldier, thanks._

_As you wish, he thought in amusement. He turned and left, hearing Krista pick up again, as usual, her song._

"Soshite tsukaete We believe you,

Ichiman boroto no We believe you.

Chikara o ageru yo Natural Forces.

Minna soba ni iru kara ne.

Daichimo mori mo. Kusa mo ki mo.

Daijoubu we believe you…"*

Frieza watched his elite squad with a great deal of patience. They were going through their new introduction routine. These performances always drew a crowd and this time was no different. Somewhere around seventy men had clustered around the area to watch. Zarbon was standing next to him, carefully registering no expression on his face. 

The squad continued with their introduction, seemingly indifferent to the grins and muffled squeaks of laughter that permeated the crowd. Krista wandered up and frowned. 

_What is this debacle? She asked with some amusement. Zarbon's own flittered back to her._

_Good word for it. This is how the Ginyu Force operates. They are ridiculous when they first introduce themselves. It's an embarrassment, really. It reflects on all of us. But that's only to throw their opponents off guard. They then don't live long enough to be put back on their guard. _

She grinned and continued to watch the introduction. The small one with orange skin and white hair-quite handsome, she noted, looked directly into her eyes and an image filled her mind, one that made her flush hotly. She quickly turned and walked to the other side of the room and sat. 

_What's wrong, Sergeant?_

_That…nevermind._

_Krista…._

_Well, that orange one…he looked at me. Krista flushed harder as she recounted in her mind the image which had been sent to her by him. She looked and saw Zarbon fix dark eyes on him._

_That's Jeice. A so-called ladies man. It appears the Ginyu may be gearing up to continue where Dodoria left off._

Krista paled. _W-wh-wh-what??_

_Don't worry, He thought firmly. An image from Zarbon began to form in her mind, his putting his arms around her and holding her close but it was snuffed out before she could even really register it had existed. __I won't let anything like that happen again. I swear to you._

Krista found herself oddly touched by his words.

_I-I believe you,_ she thought. _But how do you intend to stop them? Aren't they Frieza's elite force?_

_There _is _a reason why I'm second in command, Sergeant, _Zarbon thought, not bothering to hide his pride. _I'm not concerned, I can handle Jeice-or any of the others, for that matter._

Krista smiled a bit and wandered back over to watch the almost humiliating spectacle of the Ginyu's routine.

He was surprised by the success of his idea. Perhaps adding the girl to his force hadn't such a bad idea after all. There had been no more reports such as the one he'd received concerning Dodoria. She seemed to be making friends among the crew and her work was certainly above par. 

_I think you've really done it this time,_ he thought to himself. He grinned and went back to his other activities.


	2. Getting slightly rough around the edges

Ch

Ch. 2

Here I come, 

Rougher than the rest of them,

The best of them,

Tougher than leather.

-Knuckles, Unknown from M.E.

A/N: I'm sorry, but I loved this particular Seinfeld convo. I had to use it, the space theme was too much temptation!! And to Zarbonslover, believe me, you're now the reason I'm writing this. I'll do a Zarbon/Jeice lemon after this, promise, to repay your enthusiasm. Oh, and major Spoiler Alert for those of you who haven't read The Prisoner of Azkaban. Read it in it's whole BEFORE you read this chapter. And don't flame me if you don't, I warned you. 

"…. 'Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Padfoot and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git. Mr. Wormtail bids good day to Professor Snape and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.'". 

Kuao and Mere howled with laughter. 

"Well Snape had it coming with that 'Master of this school' remark," Kuao said. Krista giggled. 

"I thought it was pretty funny myself."

She had managed to grab a break with her friends and now the four of them were sitting off to the side, talking. Krista felt as if she were in an episode of Seinfeld. 

"So there's really a Kryptonian on your planet?"

Krista nodded. "Yep. His name is Kal-El."

Musquo blinked. "Son of Jor-El? I've heard of him, he's quite famous about the galaxy."

Krista smiled. "Yeah, he's cool. We call him Superman, though."

"Why Superman?" Mere asked. "What can he do that other men can't?"

"Um, lessee…he can fly…he's faster than a speeding bullet, they say…he's known as the Man of Steel…"

"Wait," Musquo said. "The Kryptonians never could do that on Krypton."

Krista shrugged. "My brother explained it to me a while ago, when we were preparing for you guys. Apparently Krypton had a red sun. Since our sun is yellow, it interacts with his DNA somehow and makes almost all aspects of him…well, super."

"How's his humour?" Mere asked. Krista shrugged. 

"I don't know. A normal sense of humour, I suppose."

"You mean to tell me," Mere said. "That all these other aspects of Kal-El's personality would become super because of the yellow sun of your world, and he wouldn't get super humour?"

Krista shrugged again. "I've never heard him say anything particularly funny." 

Mere chuckled at this, then stretched and sighed. he opened his mouth to ask if there actually were any visible portions of "super-ised" personality on the part of Superman, but cut himself off as Frieza strode into the room. Salutes were given around the room and Frieza nodded. 

"At ease…" he smiled. "Troops, the time has come four our tournament."

At once excited whispers broke out around the hall. Frieza waited for everything to die down before speaking again. "The rules are as last year. We will be holding simultaneous fights for the first three rounds. After we've eliminated the unworthy, we will begin pitting you against the Ginyu."

Musquo smirked. "Maybe they'll actually lose this year."

"You're serious?" Krista said softly. "The Ginyu have always won?"

"There's never been anyone here strong enough to stand up to them," Kuao said. Mere grinned. 

"That may have just changed, though."

Krista blinked. "You mean…I can enter?"

"All soldiers can enter," Musquo said. "Traditionally, the prize is a spot on the Ginyu. But ever since Jeice won several years ago, no one's beaten the Ginyu."

"But you can do it," Kuao said. "I'm almost sure you can."

Krista looked thoughtful. A tournament…

He was almost sure that she would enter. He'd heard from various crewmen how she'd fought while on Earth. If she was as good as people said, and it was a real possibility, then she'd almost certainly make it to the final round. 

And he'd be waiting. 

_You're not entering?_

_No,_ Krista thought as she continued her sketch of the Samurai Troopers. _There's no point. I wouldn't win._

_Who's to say?_ Zarbon asked her as he sat next to her. _You're an excellent fighter. You could be up to the Ginyu's level…with a little coaching._

Krista groaned. _That's how I got into this in the first place._

_Do you know how I became Second in Command?_ Zarbon asked her suddenly. Krista shook her head. Zarbon smiled a bit. 

It was a tournament. Like the one coming up, except it was specifically for the purpose of getting a new Second in Command. 

_What happened to the old one?_

Zarbon smirked. _He had a little…accident. Let something slip out to Lord Frieza he shouldn't have. In any case, I myself was only a Sergeant at the time. It's quite possible for, say, a Lieutenant to make it into the Ginyu force._

Krista sighed and stole a sideways glance at Zarbon. _You're willing to train me? Why?_

Zarbon smirked again. _It's a mater of pride, Krista. You nearly beat me. I've been beaten by the Ginyu since._

_And you don't want me to lose to them after I've beaten you. It'll make you look weaker, is what you're saying._

_So do you accept?_

Krista grinned. It would be nice to experience another style of fighting.She grinned. _I accept._

She later wished she hadn't. 

She had thought Vegeta was a tough taskmaster. She hadn't seen anything. 

When she wasn't on duty, she was out and about the planet, being trained by the now rather strict Zarbon for hours at a time. 

Zarbon launched himself into the air and began launching several volleys at Krista, who agilely avoided them, weaving in and out of the blasts until she came level with him. She aimed a last at him, which he barely had time to dodge. They began going at it, each blocking the other's strikes before attacking themselves. The rebounded off of each other, a light sheen of sweat on both brows. Zarbon grinned a little deviously. 

"I almost wish I'd gotten a chance to fight you all the way through, that would have been interesting."

"I'd still have beaten you, you know."

Zarbon's grin widened. "And now I remember what made you such a good opponent."

Krista formed her energy. "Come on, you said you were going to train me for the tournament, not talk!"

_You'd prefer something else?_ Zarbon asked with amusement. Krista sent five blasts at him in answer. Zarbon laughed and came at her. 

Krista watched, a little anxious as Mere battled with another of the officers. The being aimed a corkscrew blast at Mere, which was easily dodged before Mere counter-attacked. Zarbon was judging the competition, along with Captain Ginyu. Mere aimed an attack at his opponent, unaware of the blast that had already been sent…until it was too late. Zarbon nodded. 

"Mere loses. Mitberv wins."

Krista gulped. She was next. Musquo clapped her on the shoulder. "Good Luck," he said softly. Krista frowned. 

Gambatte. Right. 

She stepped into the ring, and the whoops and hollers intensified. Captain Ginyu smirked. 

"Battlers. Begin."

Krista found herself full rushed. Mitberv had caught her off guard. That was okay, she could do that too. She dug her heels into the ground and used a combination of her own physical strength and her powers to force him off of her and to the ground. She quickly launched herself into the air, aiming a blast at Mitberv whish was easily avoided. She aimed another. He avoided that one too. She tried not to smile as he avoided attack after attack until he was at the right distance. One more blast and he leapt aside…and straight into the path of the blast she'd launched a second after the first one. Captain Ginyu rose a brow. 

"Mitberv loses. Krista wins."

The ring of soldiers around her erupted in cheers and she flushed excitedly. She had actually won. She gulped as another soldier-bigger and meaner looking than the fallen Mitberv had stepped up. 

"Battlers. Begin."

He watched with an increased interest. She was better than he'd first speculated. She'd certainly be fun to take through the wringer, now wouldn't she? He looked at the person standing with him, Burter. Burter grinned at him. 

"I suppose you want first crack at her?"

"Damn right," Jeice affirmed. "That fool Dodoria went after her too quickly, and alerted Zarbon besides. I don't intend to repeat his mistake."

"Don't you?"

"No," Jeice smirked. "And I think that she'll be a bit more eager to be with me than she ever was with Dodoria."

"Remember, Jeice," Burter's tone became cautionary. "Frieza's got to be fond of her if he gave her a protector and killed Dodoria for going after her. And it's not good to make Frieza angry."

"I know, I know," Jeice said irritably. He was more interested in watching as the girl put down yet another opponent. This was her fourth one in a row, and the men were beginning to thin out. He also watched his Captain and the Second in Command carefully. His Captain, like himself, was intrigued by this girl's fighting ability. If she beat all of the Ginyu, then she'd may be enough to give him a run for his money. 

As for Zarbon…..Jeice had a distinct feeling that Frieza wasn't the only one fond of her. 

He also had a distinct feeling that she wasn't nearly as shy as she seemed in the mess. He grinned. He knew how he could find out. 

"SCABBERS???"

Their entire section of the mess went absolutely silent and Mere smiled, a little embarrassed. As the babble of talk broke out again, he whispered fiercely "Scabbers was the traitor??"

"Yep," Krista said softly. "An unregistered Animagi. He turned out to be Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew hadn't cornered Black, it was the other way around. Black was ready to kill him when Pettigrew faked his own death, cut of his finger and turned into Scabbers. He found the Weasleys to take him in and there he stayed."

"Then Harry was right," Kuao breathed. "Scabbers-I mean Pettigrew-had been losing weight because of Black and not because of Crookshanks."

"And that's why Harry wasn't attacked when Black came into the tower," Mere said excitedly. "Because it was Scabbers he was after! He hadn't gotten the wrong bed!"

Krista grinned. These two were having too much fun for her to try to introduce the Time Turner into their world just yet. She stretched and stood, determined to get some more food. She walked across the mess, partially ignoring the comments thrown at her at her getting into the semi-finals of the tournament. A soldier passed behind her and she stiffened as she felt a hand linger on her butt. 

She whirled around to see one of the Ginyu-Burter, she thought, smirking at her in a way that told her immediately that he was the culprit. She didn't contact Zarbon just yet. Perhaps she could handle this herself. 

"Watch it," she said, her voice soft but with a hint of steel in it. "Or next time you may lose that hand."

Burter smirked wider. He raised his voice so the entire Mess could hear. "So she does have spirit. And all this time I thought all you could do was talk and giggle. Are you so shy when you're being fucked too?"

Krista flushed scarlet, and before Burter could react he found himself pressed up to the wall by an invisible force. 

Or not so invisible, Krista's blue hair was floating away from her shoulders, and it was apparent that she was using some type of power to keep him there. She walked up to him calmly and, with the force of her powers, punched him in the gut. It was as if he'd been rammed with a steel girder and once she let him go, he crumpled to the ground. He managed to stand and look at her, a smirk playing over his face once again. 

"You like it rough? I'll remember that for later."

As Krista's eyes glinted and she pulled her arm back to aim one of her most powerful attacks at him, Zarbon came pushing through the crowd. He assessed the situation quickly. He, along with the entire hall had heard Burter's comments and he knew that Burter had gotten what he'd deserved. Krista, however, was so angry right now she'd likely kill him before she got a chance to fight him. 

Back off, Lieutenant. You've taught him his lesson for right now, and you have a chance to do so again tomorrow. The semi-finals, remember?

_You heard him, didn't you?_ Even Krista's thoughts were filled with indignation. _I didn't even let you get away with that shit._

_Be that as it may,_ Zarbon let a warning tone enter into his thoughts. _You've done all you can right now. Leave him Krista._

Krista let the power fizzle out. She spit on him before stalking out through the crowd, which parted to make way for her. Zarbon followed her closely after a disgusted look at Burter. As the crowd dispersed, Jeice walked up to Burter who grinned in a very self-satisfied way. 

"She'll definitely be fun."_ _


	3. Boy, guys are jerks

Ch. 3

I won't be a sucker.

I'll never be your lover.

I'd rather make you suffer,

You stupid Mother-fucker.

            -Son of a Gun, Janet Jackson (this song is now my theme song.)

Krista awoke with a distinct feeling of nausea. She remembered what had transpired the day before and wasn't looking too forward to fighting Burter. 

A look at the shift monitor told her she didn't have long until she was due in the Command Centre. Sighing, she flung herself out of the bed and into the shower. 

"Sir?"

Frieza looked up sharply. "What is it?"

"I'm getting a report of something wrong in Section 13."

Frieza frowned. "Son of a-Zarbon!"

Zarbon nodded. "On it." He hurried out. 

_Make sure you tell me what's going on!_

_Are humans always so nosy?_

_Oh definitely! That's why we invented the telephone, television, internet and term "voyeur"._

_And you wonder why your planet is in trouble._

_I ought to introduce you to talk shows sometime._

Zarbon rolled his eyes as he hurried to Section 13, passing a black being on the way. The Captain said hi to him, but he paid it absolutely no mind. He had an idea he already knew what was wrong. 

As he entered Section 13, he saw that he had been right. A fight had broken out among a few members of the Ginyu once again. Jeice and Racoom were scuffling, while Guido and Burter looked on in amusement. Racoom knocked the smaller being into the wall next to the entrance as Zarbon had entered. Guido cast two of his eyes on Zarbon and grinned. 

"Frieza sent the pansy to stop you guys," he said. Burter grinned too. 

"Come to separate them?" He chuckled. "Good luck."

Zarbon snarled. But Burter had a point. Despite his boasting to Krista, he wasn't as much of a match for the Ginyu as he'd said. 

_I'll be sure to remember that, Commander._

Perfect, Krista was still listening in on his thoughts. Sighing, he grabbed Jeice by the arm as the Ginyu member launched himself at Racoom. He was immediately thrown back into the doorway as Jeice flung him off and hit Racoom in the gut. Zarbon shook his head in a feeble attempt to clear it. 

This was going to be fun. 

_Would you like some help?_ Krista's thoughts were ripe with amusement. Zarbon shook his head visibly in response to her question. 

_Last thing I need is for the new girl to save my ass._

_Suit yourself. Some of you guys seem to love the healing tanks._

_Shut up._

He could see Krista shrugging in his mind's eye and he knew she'd closed the connection. He began to gear up for a blast when a figure came into the room behind him. It brushed past him and stood by the battling Ginyu members. The looked up sheepishly and backed off from each other, still bristling but no longer fighting. Zarbon scowled as a smug grin played across the face of Captain Ginyu. 

"I'll deal with you two later," Ginyu said to Jeice and Racoom. He then turned to Zarbon in a very self-satisfied way. 

"Tell Frieza I've got all of this under control."

Zarbon nodded, turned and left without a single word, his fingers flexing as he did so. He was itching to put them around Ginyu's throat and choke that god damn smug look off of his face. He returned to the Command Centre and tried his best to look calm and unbothered. 

"Captain Ginyu has everything under control," he reported. Frieza frowned again but said nothing. 

_Okay, what happened?_

_What do you mean?_ Zarbon had meant to keep his anger out of his thoughts but he found there was no way.

_It's showing up all over your face. You're pissed._

So much for calm. 

_That fucking idiot Ginyu._

_Captain Ginyu?_

_No,_ Zarbon thought involuntarily. _My pet chibling. Yes, Captain!_

Krista actually turned and gave him a nasty look. 

_It's not my fault if Captain Ginyu shoved a bug up your ass. Just don't take it out on me. I didn't do anything to you._

Zarbon knew he should have squashed it, never even dared to think it. But he couldn't help himself.

_No, nothing…unless you count my humiliation at nearly being beaten by a little wench, then being assigned to protect someone I'd rather fuc-_

Krista's eyes flashed. It was as if she'd actually slapped him across the face-his head turned with the force. He could feel her indignant eyes on him as he turned his back to her and began to do some busywork. 

_Fuck you,_ She thought at him venomously. Zarbon couldn't stop himself. Nor did he try. 

_You first._

He felt the connection sever abruptly. He shook his head and sighed. He shouldn't have lost his cool, not like that. But then again, what did she expect? Smart ass human. He shrugged. He was better off. 

Burter grinned as he entered the arena. Krista was already standing there, waiting. And she looked mad. _Good,_ he thought to himself. _She'll be careless and make mistakes._

Zarbon was the ref. He looked disdainfully at Burter, and very quickly at Krista, as if he were truly trying to avoid looking at her. 

"Fighters," he said. "Begin!"

Burter launched himself into the air, Krista following. He flew straight at her, making her gasp and veer off. He grinned. Perfect. He teleported behind her and hit her hard between the shoulder blades, sending her smashing into the ground below. He smirked as the dust rose beneath him. 

"I expected better."

"Well, I hate to disappoint."

Burter never quite knew what hit him as he went barrelling into the crater Krista had just created. He looked up to see Krista about half a second away from sending him to another dimension. He teleported out of the way just as she landed her punch. He appeared twenty feet above her and she went after him. The two began to battle, each blocking the other's attacks for about half a minute until Burter kicked her in the head. 

She went spiralling sideways but recovered quickly and smirked. Burter found himself unable to move a limb as Krista flew up to him and, bringing her fists together, hit him on the back of the head. As Burter began to fall, she kneed him in what may or may not have been the gut. Burter fell, fetal position and all, to the ground. After a few seconds, he got to his feet and looked up to see Krista had landed and sat down on the ground. She smiled at him in an annoyingly innocent manner. Burter snarled and aimed his largest blast at her. As the dust cleared, and he saw the trench he had made, he began to laugh crazily. 

"Having fun?"

He started and turned. Krista was floating right behind him upside down. She grinned and backhanded him across the face. Burter grabbed for her but she had already removed herself from his reach and was now on the other side of him. She smirked and kicked Burter in the butt. 

Burter rounded on her and looked about ready to throttle her when she kicked him in what definitely was not the gut. Burter doubled over again and fell. This time, he did not stir again. Zarbon, who throughout this had watched with an increasing level of amusement, nodded. 

"Krista wins."

The area around her burst into cheers as she walked over to Burter. She knelt by his head and saw that he was conscious. She bent low to his ear. 

"That rough enough for you?"

She smirked again and walked away, swaying her hips in a very provocative manner. As she began to receive congratulations all around, she looked at Zarbon. His face was carefully guarded. He simply nodded his congratulations and turned to leave. 

_You owe me, Zarbon._

She could feel Zarbon's amusement. 

_Is it an apology you want?_

Krista didn't answer. Zarbon let a grin filter across his face. 

_All right. I'm sorry you didn't kill the bastard. That good enough?_

Krista's eyes narrowed. _I can easily see if that part of your anatomy is as sensitive, _Commander.

Zarbon smirked, turned and walked away. 


	4. Can't Win 'em all

Ch. 4

You're such a romantic Hero,

The way you dress and look yourself over.

It's no wonder you would ponder that image

Of your preening self in the mirror.

            -Son of a Gun, Janet Jackson

Even Zarbon had to admit, a few days later, that the Ginyu was a much humbler group.

Still arrogant as hell, though. 

As other fights had to be fought, Krista had been given a break from the Tournament for a few days.

She spent the time talking with her small group of friends, working and, Zarbon supposed, drawing away in her quarters. 

He didn't dare go and check on her. For one, he still wasn't ready to apologise. 

And two, he happened to be quite fond of that part of his anatomy.

He shrugged it off as he sat in his own quarters, trying in vain to read a few reports. He had gotten halfway through the first one on recent planets wiped out when his door chime rang. He frowned.

Who the hell would be visiting him, and now of all times?

He found himself hoping as he went to answer the door that it would be Krista.

The door opened and Zarbon's features didn't fall, but they twisted into a sneer. It was Captain Ginyu.

"What?" Zarbon asked curtly. Ginyu grinned. 

"Got your pants in a twist, Zarbon?"

"What the hell do you mean, Ginyu?" Zarbon asked. Ginyu shrugged. 

"Nothing. Only you haven't been hanging around the human as much. We figured either you've had her and you're done with it or you're hiding a few bruises. So who wins?"

Zarbon rolled his eyes and, tapping the pad next to the door, shut it in Ginyu's face. Zarbon could hear Ginyu's muffled chuckling through the door. 

"Could I take it to mean both, then?" Ginyu called through the door. Zarbon was tempted to open the door and tell Ginyu where to go, and what to do when he got there, but common sense held him back. He instead turned back to the report.

"So when's the next one?"

"Not for a few days," Krista murmured, shading in a picture of one of her favorite anime characters, DiGi Charat. Musquo peered at the picture critically. 

"Is that human supposed to have a tail?"

"Yes, she's not human."

Musquo frowned. "Then what is she?"

"I don't know!" Krista said, exasperated. Musquo wrinkled his feline nose. 

"Touchy, aren't we? That's the third time today. What's eating you?"

"Nothing,' Krista fairly spat. Musquo shrugged. 

"Suit yourself," He said, turning towards the door. "Though if you ask me and the others, you should probably make up with Zarbon already. You're getting downright irritable." 

Krista grew hot in the face. She turned hotly to the door. "What in the world makes you think-" She cut herself off as she realised that Musquo had left already. She sighed. 

Why had that last statement irritated her so? Zarbon had nothing to do with anything-it was simply the pressure she was feeling that was making her irritable. Hell, she'd gone through the same thing when studying for her High School Entrance Exams…

_But didn't you have that crush on Seiji then?_ A voice in her mind reminded her. _You were upset because he'd just started going out with Minako and-_

"Shut up!" she said aloud, startled at the anger in her own voice. 

Why did she get so upset like that? It wasn't like Seiji had had anything to do with anything before….had he?

Getting back to the problem at hand, did she have feelings for Zarbon? How _could_ she possibly, it wasn't even like he was all that attractive, if you didn't count the great body, the long hair, looks even Gackt would kill for-

_Stop it!_ She told herself angrily. _He's an alien! But…..Goku's an alien… No! He came to destroy your planet!! Well, technically, so did Vegeta… He hates you!………No he doesn't……he made me a promise. And you presume to trust him to honour his promises? Who says honour is anything to these people?_

So the debate in her mind went, back and forth until she had exhausted herself, and fell asleep, slumped across the bed.

"So much for that…."

Burter sneered at the smirking Jeice. "You're up next, you know," he said. "Do you think you can do any better?"

Jeice grinned. "I know enough to wear protection now."

Burter started at Jeice at this, but Ginyu held him back. "Easy," he said. "No use in your fighting against each other. Too many other weaklings around for us to beat."

Burter allowed himself to be pulled away from Jeice, though anger still glowed in his eyes. 

Guido looked at Jeice. "So what are you planning, then?"

"The girl's sensitive to thoughts," he said slowly, as if thinking aloud. "It's in her record. So perhaps we should make sure she can't concentrate long enough to get any attacks off."

"That would be cheating," Ginyu said simply. Jeice grinned. 

"You act as if there's some problem with that."

Ginyu grinned. "Never said that….."

Krista glared at Jeice. After the stunt that his team-mate had pulled in the mess, and the prior battle, she didn't trust any of the Ginyu. It also disturbed her that the other members had turned out to watch this battle, as they hadn't been at any others. Captain Ginyu was leading the bout. 

"Battlers, begin!"

Krista immediately launched herself into the air, and begin to concentrate her energy into a Kamehameha attack when an image of her giving head to Burter unwillingly entered her mind. She gasped slightly and let the energy dissipate. That was all Jeice needed. Within seconds he had her on the ground, pummelling away at her. She wedged her legs up between her body and his and forced him off of her. She stood but before she could even take a step, another image, one of her being taken by no less than three of the Ginyu at the same time forced its way into her consciousness. Jeice grinned widely and nodded just slightly to his team-mates before forming a massive energy blast in his hand and aiming it at Krista. 

The last thing she saw before the blast hit was her crying out in pleasure as she came…..

She opened her eyes groggily and peered through a strange bluish haze onto the scene before her. Zarbon's voice came to her as though from a great distance. 

"…and she was unconscious before I even made it halfway to the ring. I think Jeice might have killed her if I hadn't stopped him."

She could just barely discern Frieza's face. It was wavering as if she were looking at it through a heat wave. Or not so much like a heat wave, but water…

"I suppose it couldn't be helped. The Ginyu are a handful."

"They will be punished, then?" Zarbon's voice only had the slightest edge on it to indicate it was a question. She could see Frieza shake his head. 

"No. It's a part of the tournaments, you know that. She's no different from anyone else on this planet."

Zarbon opened his mouth as if to press the matter but a look from Frieza warned him that the topic was closed. He looked in her direction and smirked. 

"So, she's awake. Feeling any better, Lieutenant?"

It was only then that Krista realized that she was in a healing tank. She had lost the tournament.

Jeice winced as he was shoved roughly into a bulkhead by Zarbon. A couple of well placed punches on Zarbon's part brought the rest of the Ginyu, bristling, around him. Ginyu leered at him. 

"Are you looking for a fight, pansy?"

"You could have killed her," Zarbon growled. Jeice grinned. 

"Concerned about the human girl, are we? Is she in possession of something of yours, perhaps?"

Zarbon didn't even flinch at the remark. "If you kill her then Frieza kills me. This is the interest of self-preservation."

Jeice grinned. "You don't have to worry so much, anyway,' he said. "I wasn't going to kill her. Not so soon, anyway." 

Zarbon's eyes narrowed and Burter nodded. "Clever predators play with their prey before killing it. Surely you know that, Zarbon?"

"How could he?" Guido said, grinning. "You said only _clever_ predators do that."

Zarbon snarled and turned on Ginyu. "If I see any of you trying to hurt her again, in any way, I'll send you _past_ the next dimension. Is this in any way unclear?"

Ginyu smirked and saluted Zarbon mockingly. 

"Yes sir." He turned to him subordinates. "You heard the Commander."

The other Ginyu Force snapped to attention and gave the same false salute. "Yes sir!"

Their mocking laughter followed Zarbon out into the corridor. He sighed and turned to check on Krista. 

When he arrived in the infirmary, he saw that Krista was still awake, and still in the healing tank. 

_How are you feeling?_ He asked her. She glared at him and looked away. He stepped around into her line of view and tapped on the glass. 

_Anyone home in there?_

_Go away,_ She thought at him firmly. He shook his head. 

_I'm supposed to make sure you're alright, I've got to report to Frieza in a few minutes_

_Okay, you've seen me. I'm fine. Go now._

Zarbon frowned. She still wasn't in the best mood with him. He shrugged and turned to leave. 

_Oh, by the way,_ He thought. _I noticed the look on your face when you went down. Tell me, has any other man ever seen that look while he's busy pumm-_

He found himself forced out of the door very suddenly and his connection with her was severed quite abruptly. Obviously she was already quite a bit stronger than she'd been before. That wasn't what startled him; it was the look of pure hatred in her eyes as she pushed him out. The thought crossed his mind that perhaps he ought to tone it down a little. But he wasn't quite ready to give up teasing her just yet. 

Mere was there to greet her as she exited the infirmary. "How are you feeling, Lieutenant?"

Krista glanced up at him. "As well as could be expected after being knocked out and in a healing tank for seventy-two hours."

Mere nodded. "You're due in the Command Centre."

Krista raised a brow. "No sick days?"

Mere blinked. "Huh?"

"Nevermind," she sighed. She walked back to the Command Centre and took her place at Tactical. She began to run a scan of conquerable planets in a sector one hundred and fifteen parsecs away. She became so involved that she didn't notice Zarbon enter. 

He glanced at her, and smiled. She suppressed a sigh as his _Feeling better?_ Entered her mind. She didn't turn to look at him. 

_Yes,_ was her curt reply. _Why do you care?_

_If you get killed, Frieza kills me,_ he told her. _This is self-preservation._

_Right,_ she said, even her thoughts holding scepticism. 

Zarbon raised a brow. _You can't accept the fact that maybe I care about you?_

Krista actually turned and looked him in the eyes. _The only person you care about, Zarbon, _she thought firmly. _Is the person I'm looking at right now. You don't give a shit about me, Frieza or anyone else on this goddamned planet. As far as you're concerned, if it doesn't involve you, or your pride, or you life, you won't be bothered. _

Zarbon blinked. He was surprisingly hurt by her thoughts. She seemed to read this and her expression softened a little. He tried to form his thoughts into an apology but instead, he smirked. _So glad you finally noticed._

And the expression on Krista's face was gone, replaced by a look of pure disgust. _Go fuck yourself,_ she thought at him, turning back around.

_If I could, I wouldn't leave my room,_ he thought back at her. He could feel her aggravation and wondered again briefly if he'd gone too far, then decided he didn't care anyway. 

It wasn't like she cared about him, anyway.


End file.
